Monday, July 29, 2013

This take on the Standard Grill’s famous “Million Dollar
Chicken,” showed me once again that so many of life’s great culinary pleasures
happen when you least expect them. I saw this recipe featured on TV recently,
and chose to try it for two main reasons: one, it’s slathered in crème fraiche;
and two, it’s roasted over caramelized, chicken drippings-soaked bread.

I know, we had you at “slathered in crème fraiche,” but it
was the bread that I was really looking forward to when I pulled this out of
the oven, which is why I was so bummed when I thought I'd ruined it. Since I
got greedy and used an extra slice of bread, and also used a larger roasting
pan, the bread cooked to what would generously be referred to as
“golden-black.”

Several times during the glazing at the end, I contemplated
tossing them out and simply making a joke about it during the narration, but
I’m SO glad I didn’t. I can’t explain why, but not only didn’t it taste like burnt
toast, it truly tasted fantastic. For purely aesthetic reasons, I’ll
encourage you to use a smaller roasting pan, which will better insulate the
edges of the bread, but I wasn’t exaggerating when I described just how great
it really was. I promised to stop using the word “unctuous,” but it actually
seems appropriate here.

It was so saturated with chicken fat, caramelized juices,
and crème fraiche, that the bitterness from the darkest parts of the bread
seemed to balance the richness somehow. The point is, if mine was good this
dark, one shade lighter should get you even closer to million dollar chicken
nirvana. I hope you give this “rich” combo a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

4 1/2 pound whole chicken

salt and pepper to taste

1 lemon

1 bunch fresh thyme

1 bay leaf3 cloves garlic (original recipe calls for adding a few cloves of garlic in the cavity with the herbs and lemon - I didn't, since I had included garlic in the last twelve things I'd eaten, and was taking a break, but feel free to add!)

- Cook at 450 degrees F. for one hour, then glaze, cook for
10 minutes, and repeat until chicken is done. (Note: If you use a different
size chicken, you’ll obviously need to adjust your times. Cook until internal
temp in thickest part of thigh is 165 degrees F.)- The original recipe from the Standard Grill in NYC calls for finishing with Maldon sea salt. I didn't, but that always a nice option. View the complete recipe

45 comments:

If you liked this, Chef John, have you ever made Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk? It's similarly awesome looking, and the garlic/chicken/butter/slightly curdled milk sauce is awesome with bread or rice or potatoes. I've also thrown in a cinnamon stick, which adds a lot of tastiness as well.

Here in Italy, neither creme fraiche nor buttermilk is available, at least not near where I live. But we do have both Greek and regular yoghourt. Would you recommend I use one of those as a substitute or perhaps half Greek yoghourt and half cream?

How about recovering all that beautiful fond by making the finishing sauce in the roasting pan?

Is it possible to rotate out the bread with different slices partway through, or would the slices not get enough of a basting to be flavorful enough? I only ask because when I make a chicken I usually feed 5 people, and it'd be nice if I could get a slice of bread for each person. The chickens I use are also usually closer to 6 lbs.

Just a question/reminder. Since you throw the whole lemon inside in most of your chicken recipies i was wondering do you use bio lemons? Because all the conventional citrus fruits are sprayed with huge quantaties of pesticides and chemicals which stick on the skin and then go into the chicken while cooking. If you haven't used them so far, try it out, might not be a bad idea, i gotta look out for your health and the health of your followers :)

Just made this with some rice and salad.. The chicken was nicely fragranced with the thyme and garlic (I added 2 cloves of garlic).. But I found it to be too lemony.. With the lemon juice within the chicken and in the creme fraiche glaze.. Would you recommend the same recipe without so much lemon?

^ Cooking is all about adapting to your preferences. If you want less lemon, use less lemon. As Chef John would say, you are the boss of your sauce (wait, does he say that? Sounds like something he'd say..).

Chef John........I bought everything this afternoon, am going to make this tomorrow evening. My question is, in the original recipe they salt and pepper and put the lemon, Thyme and Bay leaf in the cavity the night before. Why doesn't all that salt dry out the bird while it sits in the refer? Or does it act like a brine and make it juicier? I know your recipe does not have to sit in the refer over night, but i would like to try it since I have the time.

That was certainly one of the best chicken recipes that I have ever had. I will be making this again and again. I reduced the leftover Creme Fraiche sauce and spooned it over the chicken pieces..........really good!

Made this for Sunday supper today. It's the kind of thing that lends itself to preparation ahead of time, and then just put it in the oven for an hour or so. Amazing flavors and aromas. And a beautiful presentation.

If you make it in a properly sized pan you can get quite a few slices under the bird. I used a standard loaf of french bread and 6 slices fit without 'peaking out'. When my family asked what they were I called them croutons - and they were a huge hit.

Made this chicky for Canadian Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I had to modify the recipe because I didn't have time to make creame fraiche and for some reason it isn't sold in Vancouver. So, I used Devonshire Cream instead it turned out great. The mixture, however, was quite thick so I thinned it out with a bit of regular cream until is resembled the mixture in the video. When I applied it to the hot chicken it behaved the same way, reverting to a liquid form. Also, I loaded up the bread pieces with some of the mixture too.

Hi all - I tried it out tonight with plain, non-fat Greek yogurt instead of creme fraiche. I pureed the yogurt with onion, lemon, etc in a food processor. It was delicious, BUT didn't carmelize in the way Chef John's did--it still looked very yogurty on the outside. Wasn't pretty but still tasted lovely. This also could have been something else I messed up rather than a result of the yogurt.

First let me say I love all if your videos! Anyways, I made this using Cornish hens (Spatchcocked, seasoned, injected brine 6% into thighs and breast, sealed, and sous vide at 155F x 5 hours)Then broiled for 20 mins or so while applying the creme fraiche sauce ever few mins... This came out phenomenal!!! Meat just fell off the bone, skin crispy and tasty, just delicious. (I didn't use the bread, I figured it prob wouldnt be great after only 20 mins in the over) Next time I'll use your original instructions but I figured I'd post this for anyone wanting a sous vide version

Hello Chef John! I bought enough ingredients to make 2 chickens, but I bought Alpine Sourdough bread instead of French Bread. Also, I have greek yogurt left over from making your Tzatziki recipe...and I have mexican ground Chipolte instead of Aleppo pepper. Do you think these substitutions will be ok? I will give it a shot, because as far as I am concerned, nothing beats a fail but a try!

So... The Gourmet Pastor, how did the chicken go? I bet it was awesome with the substitutions. Mine is in the oven right now. I couldn't get Aleppo Pepper at Whole Foods, and the spice shop "Savory" was closed. I just milled up regular pepper flakes in a coffee grinder to get more of that dusty look, instead of flakes. The sauce is amazing on the spoon.Lemon,thyme, and bay right out of the yard.

Philip, that chicken was sooo good! Usually I try a recipe as listed before improvising, but is was good! Be warned though, I think the addition of the greek yogurt make the mixture too thick, and caused the chicken to brown darker than I wanted. I will try it as originally posted!